Newcastle United transfers: Eddie Howe is looking to the summer transfer window as he prepares his side for the 2024-25 season.
Eddie Howe has claimed ‘a lot of work’ has already gone into Newcastle United’s summer transfer plans.
Newcastle are looking to strengthen their squad this summer after finishing seventh in the Premier League in the 2023-24 season. With European football also a possibility depending on the result of Saturday’s FA Cup final, some important contract and transfer decisions will have to be made over the next few months.
As things stand, Newcastle have already agreed their first summer signing with Lewis Hall’s loan move from Chelsea set to become permanent for £28million. The club will trigger an obligation-to-buy clause after performance-related criteria were met during the 2023-24 campaign.
Hall was named Newcastle’s player of the month for May after eventually breaking into the side in the latter stages of the season.
The Magpies are also understood to be close to striking a deal to sign free agent Tosin Adarabioyo with his contract at Fulham set to expire next month. The defender was left out of Fulham’s squad for the final matches of the season after informing the club of his intention to leave this summer.
Lloyd Kelly is another free agent possibility for Newcastle after the Bournemouth defender told the club he would be leaving when his contract expires at the end of June. Howe has previous experience working alongside the defender having signed him for Bournemouth from Bristol City in 2019 for £13million.
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Newcastle transfer plans have already taken shape
The Magpies have also been scouting players across South America and Europe this season, notably Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili. Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale has also been heavily linked as Newcastle expect to lose Loris Karius on a free transfer while Martin Dubravka is also likely to depart. But Howe has claimed Newcastle’s transfer plans have been in the works since the quiet January window which saw the club refrain from making a single senior signing for the first time under the current ownership model.
“My thoughts on the transfer window have probably been there since January, February because the minute one window shuts you’re planning for the next one,” he said. “A lot of work has gone into the summer window where we’re trying to be clever and smart as we’ve tried to be since we come to the football club.
“Very difficult market to navigate but as I’ve said many times, very difficult to predict what is going to happen, we can’t even predict what we’re going to do but the endeavour will be there to try and improve the squad.”
Newcastle have transfer funds available following the influx of Champions League prize money, Sela sponsorship and the new Adidas kit deal but Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules continue to limit the club’s spending power. The club will need to sell several players in order to significantly boost its transfer budget.
“I don’t think it quite works like that [having a set budget] these days,” Howe added. “I think the whole way of trading players have changed.
“The days of that kind of way of working are over I think. So it’s a case of just being smart and reacting to what happens and try and bring the right players with the right characteristics into the squad.”
When asked if he feels he has the backing of the club’s owners heading into the summer transfer window, Howe continued: “I don’t think it’s a case of that. I think that support and that determination is there from the owners but the rules mean those restrictions are placed upon us.”
Newcastle United must sell this summer
Miguel Almiron attracted interest from Saudi Arabia in January and is a sellable asset. Kieran Trippier and Callum Wilson were also subject to January transfer interest and will be into the final year of their con
Sean Longstaff is another who has just over a year remaining on his deal and the club will need to either offer him a new deal or sell him this summer in order to avoid losing him on a free transfer. A sale of the midfielder would boost Newcastle’s PSR limit as it would represent ‘pure profit’ by selling a player who has progressed from the academy.
Newcastle don’t plan on selling top assets such as Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak this summer. But Guimaraes’ £100million release clause in his contract which can be triggered in June does leave an element of uncertainty surrounding his future at the club.
Matt Ritchie and Paul Dummett are out of contract in the summer and are expected to leave the club. But Howe recently suggested that European qualification could still see the players offered new deals.
A decision will also be made on Yankuba Minteh after a successful season at Feyenoord. The Dutch side are keen to keep hold of the 19-year-old winger but Newcastle will take a closer look at him in pre-season before making a call on his future.
Garang Kuol is currently with the squad in Australia but will be loaned out again this summer.
Jeff Hendrick and Kell Watts will leave when their contracts expire next month while the club will also look to move on the likes of Ryan Fraser, Isaac Hayden and Jamal Lewis following Championship loan spells.
Newcastle have spent significantly since being taken over by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, RB Sports & Media and PCP Capital Partners in October 2021 but have struggled to generate revenue through player sales. Last summer, the club sold Allan Saint-Maximin to Saudi Pro League side Al Ahli for £21million.
Chris Wood also completed a move to Nottingham Forest in a deal worth around £15million. But Wood was a player signed by Newcastle from Burnley for £25million in 2022 – so is viewed as a financial loss in PSR calculations.
Newcastle’s squad are currently out in Australia for two post-season friendlies against Tottenham Hotspur and A-League All Stars. One way or another, the squad is likely to look quite different by the time the 2024-25 gets underway on August 17.
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